Guest Beds - Rollaway, Hide Away, Folding & Furniture Stow Away

Having a guest bed on hand makes it easier to accommodate family, friends, or guests when they come to visit or stay over; and provides a little extra flexibility for the unexpected. There is quite an array of guest beds available on the market -- from trundle beds and sleeper sofas to futons, futon chairs, and ottoman styles; from slatted rollaway beds on wheels to spring-supported roll aways; from plain foam mats to upholstered folding memory foam folding beds; and, of course, those inexpensive airbeds you can get just about anywhere.

And, indeed, there is probably a time and place for every style, though some seem much less impressive than others, such as the trundle bed, the spring-supported roll away beds, and cheap airbeds. Am I the only one who finds saggy mattress support to be miserably uncomfortable? Either I am, or a lot of other people are satisfied with whatever their local retail merchants are offering, without considering whether the product is really comfortable.

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Nevertheless all the styles are out there, offering varying degrees of comfort - those that lay flat on the floor, and those that elevate the bed above the floor. Some models fold and store flat (folding beds), while others fold and roll into a closet or empty space (rollaway beds); some deflate and fold up for storage (airbeds), while yet others fold together into a piece of furniture (sleeper sofas, futons and futon chairs, ottoman styles) that can provide a different sort of functional comfort in your home when not used for guests.

If you're really into comfortable memory foam, and don't mind your guest sleeping on the floor, the MemoRest Folding Guest Bed is a real winner -- manufactured with 3" of support foam and 1" of memory foam for optimal comfort. It was originally designed to replace the Isotonic Folding Guest Bed which was discontinued by E.R. Carpenter a couple of years ago, but we think the MemoRest is superior to the original! This model is also now available in three different sizes (instead of just one), and comes at a significantly lower price than its predecessor.

Other great beds are the sturdily constructed wooden-slatted rollaway guest beds, of which several models are available. The differences between them appear to be in the sturdiness of the frames, the length and width of the beds, and the type and thickness of mattresses. Nevertheless, any of them should be more comfortable than a spring-supported rollaway - that is, unless you like that type of support system or will use it so seldom that you just want something inexpensive and easily available.

About furniture guest beds - well, it is usually a love or hate story -- you may have no issue with them or you may avoid them like the plague -- that is, unless you're low on storage space or could use the extra furniture, while wanting a bed option at the same time. Fortunately or unfortunately as the case may be, all of these collapsible folding furniture beds use a spring-supported sleeping surface. On the other hand, the narrower models found in the form of ottoman sleepers or futon chair beds are small enough that hammocking should be minimized.

But, if you are open to the idea of a futon on a folding wooden frame - one which can take the shape of a couch or chair and fold out into a bed - then you have the best of both worlds, assuming that you're a "futon person" to start with. Keep in mind that lumpy futons are mostly a thing of the past, as modernization has also come to the futon world in the form of all kinds of foam cores that make them more lightweight, lump-free, and inherently springy. If, however, you prefer all-natural materials, cotton and wool varieties are still available -- including those manufactured from organic materials.

Guest Beds - Rollaway, Hide Away, Folding & Furniture Stow Away

Brian Haring has been with Absolute Comfort on Sale for over five years, and has successfully brought natural and organic bedding products into the store to complement the extensive line of memory foam products which have been the company's hallmark. Our storefront is at http://www.absolutecomfortonsale.com and a summary of guest bed products is available here at Folding Guest Beds.

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